Once upon a time there was a princess grieving over the deaths of her mother and father. Before this princess appeared a prince traveling upon a white horse. His appearance gallant and his smile gentle, the prince enveloped the princess in the scent of roses, and wiped away her tears. "Little one bearing up alone under grief, please lose not thy strength and nobility when thou growest up. As a token of this day, please retain this." "Pray, shall we meet once more?" "This ring should guide thee to me." Was the ring from the prince meant as an engagement ring? That part was good, but because of the strength of her admiration for the prince, the princess made up her mind to become a prince herself! But is that really good for her?

There was a girl who was suffering because her parents had died. A prince came on a white horse and comforted the grieving girl. He told her to maintain her noble spirit and gave her a ring that would one day lead her to him. She was so impressed with the prince that she vowed to become a prince herself. Was that what happened...?

Utena was a little girl who had lost her parents. She wondered if there was anything to live for since everyone died eventually. Dios came to her and showed her something eternal--he showed her the suffering of the Rose Bride. She told him to save her but he told her that he couldn't. She decided that she would become the Prince that would save her.

Dios What're you doing there?

Utena Nothing. Hey, are you the Grim Reaper?

Dios No. I do not bring death.

Utena You're pretty. Who's that?

Dios A witch.

Utena A witch?

Dios The Rose Bride.

Utena The "Rose Bride"?

Dios Those who can die are lucky. She cannot die. Just go on suffering.

Utena Why?

Dios It's her punishment for stealing a prince from all the women of the world. That which could not be told until now: the Tale of the Rose. Anthy... Anthy...

Anthy I'm right here.

crowd Prince!...we beg you...please save us...

man Prince, we know you're here! Come out and fight for us! You're the only one who can save our daughter! All of our daughters are waiting for you! Hurry up and fight! Prince!

Anthy You mustn't move anymore!

Dios But they're calling for help... I've got to go to them...

crowd Please save us...save us...

Anthy Stop now. Don't fight anymore. You'll die.

crowd Prince!...Prince, please fight!...

man Who're you?!

Anthy Dios is gone. He's mine and mine alone.

Anthy I've sealed him somewhere where your hands can never reach.

crowd What?...how dreadful...

man Infernal witch!

Dios She sacrificed herself to save her beloved Prince. Even though she was the only one who truly loved the Prince... And what's more, the Prince who loved her was no longer the Prince she knew, but instead... he became the Ends of the World.

Utena This is...

Dios And her suffering was all that remained.

Utena Hey, save her! It's too cruel! Save her! Save her...

Dios She can no longer be saved. The only one who can save her is a Prince she believes in.

Utena You're a Prince, right?

Dios I can't become her Prince.

Utena Why not?

Dios You're such a gentle child. Thank you for your tears.

Utena Then I'll become a Prince! I'll become her Prince and save her!

Dios If you can retain that nobility even when you grow up, you may indeed be able to save her from her eternal suffering. But you will surely forget all about this night. And even if you do remember, you're a girl. Soon you'll become a lady.

Utena I will! I'll become a Prince no matter what!

Dios Then that ring will surely lead you here again.

These translations can be found at The Utena Encyclopedia. Thank you to those who provided them. The images are from Empty Movement